I almost messed up “big time”.

My 5-year-old son and I were coming back from school when we saw a(n) ________ man on the side of the road. I wanted to give the man some money, but I didn’t have any cash(现金). My son Justus noticed the man as well. And then it happened...

Justus insisted on giving the man the 30 cents he had in his pocket. I was more than happy that he wanted to do this with ________ . But honestly I was hesitant(犹豫不决的), I didn’t want to give this man who clearly needed all the help he could get, just 30 cents. My own pride and thoughts of the homeless man’s unknown reaction(反应) to ________ just two coins were standing in the way.

I quickly realized that I was the only problem in this situation. I almost told my son what he had wasn’t enough by my inaction. I almost showed him that what he saw as a good thing, and was in fact a good thing, wasn’t good enough to make a ________ in someone’s life. I almost taught him that pride was more important than helping another human. Thank goodness I quickly dropped that foolishness.

I then rolled down the window and said, “I’m sorry, man. I don’t have any cash on me, but my son back here wants to give you everything he ________ right now. He just turned five.”

The smile on that man’s face lit up the crossroad and he said to Justus, “Thank you so much!”

The only thing that ________ the brightness of that stranger’s smile after that moment was... the bigger smile on my boy’s face!

I also believed that a chain reaction of ________ started behind us that day, as other people rolled down their windows to help him, too.

My little boy, without even ________ it, reminded me once again by his actions that it was always about the heart. It doesn’t matter how much you have or how little; giving in love and sincerity is very important.

Humans are hurting the planet and destroying the environment. Change needs to happen at every level of society. We are holding Call to Earth Day to ask you to do something good to protect the environment.

What is Call to Earth Day?

Call to Earth Day is a movement that stresses environmental protection. Across TV and our website, there are stories about our amazing planet and the people who are protecting it.

How can I be involved?

Everyone is invited. We can all play a role in creating a movement for good. You have to do something to protect the environment. We are asking you to think big, get creative, and make your event influential.

What kind of event can I hold?

The event you choose to hold is up to you, but it should focus on creating a healthier planet. Here are some suggestions for where you can get started:

Screenings Call to Earth has lots of beautiful and inspiring videos for you to watch and share.

Local clean ups Whether it’s a beach, a river, a park or a street, get out there and help remove litter from your hometown.

Art projects Encourage kids to create works of art based on their local environment.

“How To…” sessions Hold workshops or lessons on everyday skills like recycling and reducing food waste.

Visit our website for more information: www. calltoearthday. com

The perfect birthday present

Toby watched the advertisement for the new Super Robot man. It was half man, half machine and could transform into an airplane, a boat, and a racecar.

“Dad! Look!” Toby pointed to the television screen. “That’s what I want for my birthday. Can I get one? Please!”

“We’ll see.” Dad said. “Your birthday is only two weeks away. New toys like this can be hard to find sometimes.”

“Hard to find? But it’s on TV.”

Dad laughed, “That’s what will make it difficult to find. Everyone will be looking to buy it.”

“Everyone?” Toby thought. Well then, he’d tell everyone that he wanted a Super Robot man. Someone would be able to find it then, right?

Before bed, Toby called his grandparents and told them all about the Super Robot man. Then he added a note at the bottom of each party invitation so that all his friends would know he wanted a Super Robot man.

For two weeks, all he talked about was the Super Robot man and all the cool things it could do. His friends and family nodded and smiled as Toby went on and on about how it was the perfect birthday present.

The big day finally came. Toby got a lot of presents. He opened the first present. “A Super Robot man!” Toby was excited, but everyone else looked worried. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

Dad handed him a box. “I think you should open another present.”

Toby opened it. “Another Super Robot man?”

His father handed him more boxes. Each one had a Super Robot man. Toby laughed. “I guess I got what I asked for.” He handed an action figure to each of his friends. “Now we all have one. Let’s go try them out.”

“You’re not upset?” Mom asked.

“Why would I be? I got what I wanted, and now all my friends have one too. It was the perfect birthday.”

The world’s leading researchers are studying our senses. From the connection between taste and smell, to the idea of “scent（气味）training”, there’s so much more than we think to our sense of smell.

Your sense of smell is largely responsible for your ability to taste food. “Flavor（味道）is really an experience that joins what happens on your tongue with smell,” says a professor at the University of York, UK. “When you put something in your mouth, the molecules（分子）go into your nose. Maybe your tongue can tell there’s fat in that chocolate, and that’s something the brain finds very satisfying, but the formal chocolate experience comes from all the molecules going into your nose.”

Women out-perform men when both groups are asked to tell a certain number of scents

That holds true across all age groups. This is because women are better at noticing a smell and better at describing it with language. Research shows that when people were asked to memorize eight scents and were then given a scent test, the women were better able to tell whether or not a scent was one of the ones that had been memorized. Women were also better at recognizing the scents by name.

Your eating habits may change because of the loss of smell

“You think, ‘I remember how this tasted in the past. I guess they don’t have the same tasty tomatoes or meat any more, ’”says a researcher. “But in fact, it’s your sense of smell that may be working less.” Losing the sense of smell is likely age-related or caused by a cold.

The loss of smell may even change people’s eating habits. Some people will lose interest in eating or don’t want to eat with their friends. Others will start eating lots of junk food, spices, salt, to try to make eating more enjoyable.

Scent training might protect our sense of smell

The loss of smell is not the end of the world. Some research suggests that scent training might protect our sense of smell. By breathing in strong smells on purpose for several weeks, people become more sensitive（敏感的）to all scents and improve their ability to smell. Researchers found the MRI brain images of people undergoing scent training got thicker in the parts of the brain responsible for dealing with the role of scent, which means it’s not just a nose that is trained, it’s the whole brain.

It’s certainly good to be nice. Whether it’s helping a friend with homework, watching their favorite shows even if they’re not your thing or giving up a little time and energy to do something for a friend is a praiseworthy decision. Or, one might be the bigger person and agree to take the short end of the stick in an argument, all to satisfy others and avoid further problems. Still, we need to control our niceness: niceness is valuable, but it’s definitely not without downsides.

To be clear. I’m not advocating（倡导）for selfishness. In fact, I’d encourage everyone to do small favors for the people they care about. Helping others makes us happy. It also gives us a greater sense of purpose and belonging, as we feel more connected to those we do favors for. The same goes for sacrificing （牺牲）a little on our part to end a disagreement, which might feel uncomfortable in the short term, but is in the end for the greater good.

Yet, we need to be careful about where our niceness comes from. When our desire（渴望）to help others comes from a need to be seen as a good or friendly person, our motivations （动机）become increasingly dangerous. For example, we might want others to relate to us, so we say that we like their favorite songs when we don’t. Being agreeable all the time makes us become a product of the people around us instead of having our own special personality.

Additionally, avoiding unreasonable agreeability is even more important. We can’t help offering to do too many favors because our desire to be seen as selfless and kind outweighs our worries for our own well-being. If you always support others emotionally, or help them with their studies, that habit might become part of how you view yourself. In other words, you see yourself as someone willing to lend a hand to others when they are in need.

Agreeability crosses the experiences of all kinds of people, and it can be especially true within communities where selflessness is important. From my experience at Harvey Mudd College, students are known for caring for others-offering to help their classmates with their studies. This common view of people’s willingness to help can put stress on Mudders to sacrifice their energy, even if they don’t have the skills to do so. Instead, they should remind themselves of their responsibilities, and then decide if they have the ability to lend a hand.

Finally, making kindness a habit is an honorable goal. But as with all things, moderation（适度）is key, and sometimes, sacrificing a little too much can cause more harm than good.

Could what you believe about yourself have an effect on your success or failure? According to Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, your beliefs play a key role in what you want and whether you achieve it. Dweck has found that it is your mindset that plays an important role in deciding achievement and success. So, what exactly is a mindset? A mindset is a set of beliefs that shape how you make sense of the world and yourself. It influences how you think, feel, and behave in any given situation.

According to Dweck, there are two basic mindsets: fixed and growth. If you have a fixed mindset, you believe your abilities are fixed and therefore can’t be changed. You may also believe that your talent and intelligence（智商）alone leads to success. And effort is not required. If you have a growth mindset, you believe that your talents and abilities can be developed over time through effort and determination（决心）. People with this mindset don’t necessarily believe that everyone can become Einstein or Mozart just because they try. They do, however, believe that everyone can get smarter or more talented if they work at it.

Your mindset plays an important role in how you deal with life’s challenges. When children have a growth mindset, they hunger for learning and have a desire to work hard and discover new things. This often translates into achievement in education. As adults, these same people are more likely to keep going in the face of difficulties. Instead of giving up, adults with a growth mindset view it as an opportunity to learn and grow. On the other hand, those with fixed mindsets are more likely to give up in the face of challenging situations. Dweck suggests that people should get rid of their fixed mindset. Here’s how:

● Focus on the journey. When building a growth mindset, it is important to see the value in your journey. When you’re fixated on the end result, you miss out on all the things you could be learning along the way.

● Add “yet” to your life. If you’re having trouble with a task, remind yourself that you just haven’t mastered it “yet”. Adding this word into your vocabulary shows that in the face of troubles, you can overcome （克服）anything.

● Pay attention to your words and thoughts. Replace negative thoughts with more positive ones to build a growth mindset.

● Take on challenges. Making mistakes is one of the best ways to learn. So, instead of shying away from challenges, welcome them.